It may make more sense that you make French macarons by using the French method, which is the traditional way of mixing the meringue with almond flour and powdered sugar. I’ve used this method all along, simply because I didn’t know of other methods until recently.
Italian method is basically making the meringue with sugar syrup and mix the meringue with the almond paste. I’ve tried this method twice (just to make sure if I got lucky with my first time, or this method was really better). And I’m going to use the Italian method from now on because it’s really the better one.
Making the perfect macarons is heavily dependent on the moisture level. You have to meet the ideal level in order to reach the consistent result. I do believe it’s a bit more challenging for you if you live in a humid country. I found the Italian meringue (boil sugar syrup and pour it into beaten egg whites, and whip to a stiff yet fluffy meringue) adds more stability to the macaron batter in terms of controlling the moisture in the meringue. I know hot sugar syrup or even a candy thermometer may put some people off. But if you’ve painstakingly tried the French method a few times, and still experienced failure. I understand how disheartening it is! Why don’t you start looking for another solution?!
Besides the fact that Italian method produces much more consistent results than the French method, I also found the finished shells are a bit shinier, stronger and more chewy. This factor makes better macarons as the shells are sandwiched and refrigerated overnight.
Ingredients (around 30 sandwich cookies):
Macaron Shells
100 grams powdered sugar
100 grams ground almonds
1 teaspoon matcha powder
75 grams egg white, divided in half
100 grams granulated sugar
25 ml water
1 drop of green food coloring paste
Matcha Buttercream
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon matcha powder
1 tablespoon milk
Directions:
Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper. Put a master template under the parchment paper or draw about 12 1 1/2-inch circles in rows on the paper, about 1 inch apart.
Process powdered sugar, ground almond and matcha powder in a food processor until finely ground. Sift the mixture through a sieve. If there are more than 2 tablespoons of large chunks left in the sieve, grind them and sift again.
Add half of the egg whites, fold the mixture with a spatula until it becomes a thick, paste-like batter. Set aside.
Combine granulated sugar and water in a small saucepan, cook the mixture on medium high heat. When the syrup reaches 225F on a candy thermometer, start beating the other half of the egg whites on high. Continue beating while cooking the syrup until it reaches 239F. Remove from heat.
When the meringue is at soft peak stage, turn the mixer to low, and slowly pour the hot syrup into the egg whites while the mixer is running. Once all the syrup is in, turn the mixer back to high and keep whipping until the meringue is cool and glossy stiff peaks have formed.
Add about half the meringue to the almond paste, gently folding until combined and smooth. Gradually add the remaining meringue, add food color and fold until the batter is smooth. To test consistency, pick up the spatula and if the batter ribbons back into the bowl, it is ready. It should be like lava blending back into itself after about a minute.
Fit a pastry bag with a 1/2-inch round tip and fill the bag with the batter. Using the template as a guide, pipe circles onto the parchment papers.
Tap the bottom of each sheet on the work surface to release trapped air bubbles. Let the cookies stand at room temperature for at least 30 minutes. This allows the cookies to develop their crusts.
Preheat oven to 300F. Bake the macarons for 10 to 12 minutes, until set but not browned.
Transfer the baking sheets to wire racks and let the macarons to cool completely on the pans. Once cooled, gently lift half of the cookies from the parchment paper and turn them upside down.
To prepare buttercream, beat butter on high until fluffy. Add powdered sugar and matcha powder and beat until incorporated. Add milk, continue beating for another 3 minutes.
Spoon or pipe a teaspoon of buttercream onto each of the upside-down cookies. Top with the remaining cookies.
Cover and refrigerate overnight. Bring to room temperature before serving.
40 comments
How much butter is a stick? Like 1/2 a cup? Or how much in g?
Cooking them at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes yields a much better result!
Is there any way to replace green food coloring? I want to make these for my birthday :)
Hi Mini, you can omit the food coloring, and the cookies will have a light shade of green from the matcha powder.
how much is 100 g in cups
i dont know how to convert any
Hi Athena, for Italian method, I highly recommend you to weight your ingredients. :)
1dl sugar is 85grams, so 100g sugar is 1,2dl = 0,5 cups = 100g = 3,55oz.
Hi I absolutely love your recipe for these green tea macarons but i noticed you used milk for the filling. Do you know if i can substitute something like almond milk, or coconut milk? Or would that change the way it tastes? Thank you in advance.
Hi Jaileen, the milk is used to thin and smooth the icing. It’s totally fine to use almond milk or coconut milk. :)
Hi Fanny, for some reason my meringue isn’t forming peaks even after using an electric hand mixer for 10 minutes. Do you knwo what the culprit could be? Also how long does it usually take for peaks to form?
Thanks.
Hi D, it’s probably because the bowl you used was a little greasy, or the egg whites had a little yolk inside. There are the two common reasons why. Hope it helps. :)
I made these, and they were GREAT! I made them for my daughtes Winter Party she always have, I thought her friends wouldn’t like the flavor as much as my little girl does, but they absolutely loved them! When I was making them, I thought they were called ‘macaroons’ but then my daughter corrected me that they were ‘macarons’ ! Haha
Yay, Tabitha! I am so happy to hear that! Happy 2017!
Thanks so much for the recipes! I have failed many times while attempting to make macarons(the french way), and your recipe was a success! The only problem I had is that the feet of the macaron spread out more than the actual shell. Do you have an idea of how this was caused? Thanks again!
Not sure if its cause i used a little more egg than i should have but mine took super long to cool but still didnt come out :( Would too muhh egg white ruin them? (About 9 grams more)
Hi Domenic, it might be the case as making macarons requirs an accurate ingredient measurement.
For the almond flour- all I could find was almond meal which has in it bits of brown paper shell in it. Can that be used???
Yes, Laura. It’s fine to use almond meal.
for the ground almonds could you use super-fine almond flour?
Yes, Elena. :)
How many eggs is 75 grams of egg whites?
I can’t really get the estimate on that.
Should I get two large eggs and one medium sized egg for that amount?
Also, Thank you for sharing your recipe!
I shall try to make these as soon as I get the ingredients.
I am very excited!
Hi Lydia, for Italian method, I would highly recommend you to weight your ingredients. I wish I could tell you the exact number of eggs required, but I don’t think I could with the exact measurement. :)
Just made these macarons, and they came out PERFECT!! Never had much luck with the French method, they always crack no matter what :( None of them cracked this time. I also made these on a humid rainy day which is unbelievable D: thanks for this recipe!
Hi Leah, I am so happy that the recipe worked for you! Hooray! :)
Question for you. I wanted to make these according to the Italian method, so I bought I candy thermometer and used a copper sugar saucepan. The problem I ran into was that my thermometer recommends submerging approx. 2″ into the liquid and also not to let the thermometer touch the bottom of the pan. Unfortunately, with only 100g sugar and 25ml of water, this wasn’t remotely possible, so I tried to tilt the pan and check, but temperatures were not registering consistently. When the time came to add my hot sugar syrup to the beating egg whites, the sugar clumped into a ball and sent threads of sugar all over the place so I had to scrap all of it. Any ideas? Are you using an incredibly small pan?
Hi Andrew, the pan I used was a 6-inch sauce pan (around 3-inch deep). My mixture was not more than 2″ deep, and it was okay for me to clip my thermometer along the side of the pan. One thing about adding the hot syrup into the egg whites is to make sure the stream is slowly added in along the inside of the bowl, not directly to the whisk when it’s moving. Hope it helps. :)
When you say add half the egg whites to the dry mixture is it literally just the egg whites not beat into a meringue yet? I’ve done the French method four times now. First time batter wasn’t deflated enough so had hollow shells, second time was perfect, third was over mixed so wouldn’t get a skin so didn’t get feet or rise, fourth worked beautifully again. VERY hit and miss. I’ll have to get a candy thermometer
Hi Jordan, yes, just fresh egg white without beating to make a paste. I’ve done both method, like I said, I found the result from Italian method more consistent. Hope you will think the same. Good luck. :)
How long do the macarons keep? Love to make a few as presents
Hi Ariel, you can keep filled macarons in an air-tight container in refrigerator for 3 to 4 days. Unfilled macaron shells can be frozen in the freezer for months. Defrost in room temperature for about 20 minutes before using. Hope you like the recipe. :)
Hi there, about to attempt this recipe, but I wanted to know: how many grams is in a stick of butter?
Hi Tilly, one stick of butter equals to 113 grams / 8 tablespoons / 1/2 cup. Hope you enjoy the recipe. :)
I made these yesterday and they came out just like the pictures above, perfect! thank you!
YAYAYAYAY!!!! I an so happy to hear that, Nina!
How cute and delicious do they look?! :)
Thanks, Dana! :)
Beautiful photos! And such a great use of ingredients!
Thanks, Annie. :)
Hi Fanny, now that you’ve mentioned about the Italian method, I think I am going to try it. Because I’ve never experienced any success with the French method. Now tell me about frustrationsssss!!!! But you are giving me hope. LOL! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks, Joanna. Hope you find success with the Italian method. :)